Web Ads May Have Aided Obama’s High January Fundraising

Web advertising may have contributed to Barack Obama’s record month of online-powered fundraising in January. The candidate’s campaign placed more than 70 million display ads online last month, up from about 10 million ad impressions in December. The majority of the January ads drove supporters to visit the Senator’s official site to “Help Elect Barack Obama President of the United States.”

Obama’s hefty display ad run topped the number of ad impressions from all the presidential campaigns in October and November — 65 million each month, as tracked by Nielsen Online AdRelevance.

Last year’s most prolific display advertiser, Romney for President, also pushed fundraising goals in some of the 40 million ads placed by the campaign in January. However, like rival Republican John McCain, Romney’s campaign also stressed issues in many online display ads. While Romney focused on family values, traditional marriage and immigration in his issue-based ads, McCain’s camp stuck with familiar themes such as pork-barrel spending, courage and conservatism.

John McCain 2008 ran less than half the number of online ad impressions in January that Romney’s campaign did, around 19 million. Still, the majority of McCain’s ads were video-enabled, and may have cost more than standard animated ads. Romney’s camp ran around one million expandable video-enabled ads which compared the former Massachusetts Governor’s pro-life and pro-traditional marriage stances with those of Republican Mike Huckabee. Romney has since ducked out of the primary race; Huckabee remains in it.

By using issue-based messaging and video in their ads, the McCain and Romney camps most likely intended to persuade voters rather than simply drive traffic to their sites for donations or list-building purposes.

Democratic contender Bill Richardson also continued his short display ad run into January; the candidate ended his presidential bid early in that month. His campaign kept with issue-based ad messaging as seen in a small number of ads promoting Richardson’s behavioral healthcare plan for military veterans.

As in all of 2007, Yahoo grabbed the majority of ad impressions from the candidates in January, although all four campaigns also bought ads on local newspaper or TV sites. Richardson’s camp continued its focus on Iowa by placing ads on DesMoinesRegister.com. Romney’s ads showed up on local news sites in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Raleigh/Durham and Tampa. McCain’s camp also ran ads on Florida sites in addition to sites based in Detroit, Boston and South Carolina.

Meanwhile, though Obama’s ads appeared mainly on Yahoo, MSNBC and MSN, his campaign also ran ads on NJ.com to promote a particular event in Jersey City. “Come Join the Jersey City Democratic Committee in Meeting Our Next President Senator Barack Obama,” read the ad, which pictured Obama alongside the mayors of Jersey City and Newark.

McCain also featured geographically-relevant copy in ads touting his endorsement by The Detroit News.

January 2008 Ads by John McCain 2008

Ad Copy

Call to Action

Ad Sizes

Number of Impressions

“McCain. Watch the Latest Video.”

“Play Video” & “Join the Team Today”

728×90 Leaderboard, 300×250 Medium Rectangle, 160×600 Wide Skyscraper

17,949,000

“The Detroit News Endorses John McCain”

“Click Here to Learn More”

300×250 Medium Rectangle, 728×90 Leaderboard

471,000

“McCain. A Clear Record of Conservatism.”

“Play Video” & “Join the Team Today”

300×250 Medium Rectangle, 160×600 Wide Skyscraper, 728×90 Leaderboard

280,000

“What does Mike Huckabee have to say about John McCain? Watch the latest video”

“Play Video” & “Join the Team Today”

300×250 Medium Rectangle, 160×600 Wide Skyscraper, 728×90 Leaderboard

152,000

“One man has the experience One man has the courage One man has our trust John McCain for President.”

“Join Our Team”

728×90 Leaderboard, 120×600 Skyscraper

55,000

“President doesn’t need foreign policy experience?”

“Play Video” & “Join the Team Today”

300×250 Medium Rectangle, 728×90 Leaderboard

34,000

“McCain”

[play video]

300×250 Medium Rectangle

16,000

“Three million of your tax dollars to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don’t know if that’s a paternity issue or a criminal issue.”

“Bill Richardson President. A Heroes Health Card for veterans, ensuring them the quality care they deserve. Quality health care for PTSD and other mental trauma. Access to affordable behavioral health care for all Americans.”

Marketers create personas to better understand their target audience and what it looks like. If marketers can understand potential buyer behaviors, and where they spend their time online, then content can be targeted more effectively.